Device for nailing moldings in panels



(NoModel.) Z'Sheets-Sheet 1.

y J. N. HIBBARD.

DEVICE POR NAILING MOLDING 1N PANBLS..

Patented Nov. 18, 1890.

(No Model.) 2 sneensfsheet 2.

J. N. HIBBARD.

DEVICE POR NAILING MULDING IN PANLSl No. 440,808. PatentedsNov. 18, 1890.

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UNITED STATES JAMES N. HIBBARD, OF BUFFALO, NEV YORK.

DEVICE FOR NAILING MOLDINGS IN PANELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 440,808, dated November 18, 1890.

Application tiled April 17, 1890. Serial No. 348,369. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs N. HIBBARD, of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements on a Device for Nailing Moldings in Panels; and I do hereby declare that the following description of my said invention, taken in connection with the accompanying sheets of drawings, forms a full, clear, and exact specification, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention has general reference to an improved implement for nailing moldings into panels and for similar wood-work; and it consists, essentially, in the novel and peculiar combination of parts and details of construction, as hereinafter iirst fully set forth and described, and then pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings already mentioned, which serve to illustrate my said invention more fully, Figure l is a front elevation of my improved device. the same when in practical use. Fig. 3 is a front elevation, the nail-receiver being removed to expose underlying parts. Fig. et is a longitudinal sectional elevation in line ac of Fig. l, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the nail-receiver detached.

Like parts are designated by corresponding letters of reference in all the iigures.

The object of this invention is the production of an efficient device for driving nails, and it is especially designed for use in nailing moldings into panels of doors, blinds, Wainscoting, and similar wood-work. To attain this result, I construct this device substantially as follows:

A is the body of my improved device, it being a rectangular structure formed of a single piece of metal having an oblong aperture d', of suitable length, reaching from near the upper end of the body to below its middle. rlhis oblong aperture has its longitudinal edges beveled to form guides for the reception of a correspondingly-formed slide C, provided on its upper end with a head O', as clearly shown in the drawings. The lower end of this body is provided with a cap A, secured thereto by means of screws a a', Figs. 1 and 2, while centrally it has a lateral pro- Fig. 2 is a side elevation of` jecting shank B', litted with a handle B, by means of which the entire device is manipulated.

To the cap A is affixed a curved retainer H, consisting of two flat similar pieces placed a suitable distance apart to produce a slot h between them, said plates being secured to the cap A by a screw h', passing through a lug l), projecting from the cap A, and a steady-pin, as indicated in Fig. 2, a separating-piece uf, Fig. 4, being put between the said curved plates to keep them apart at their point of attachment to the cap A while a loop I separates them at the other end.

Above the curved plates Il there is located a curved guide J, secured to the cap A by the arm J', and a screw j, passing through the arm J into the cap A, said curved guide J being placed midway above the plates II and a suitable distance from the upper edge thereof, so as to produce a space t" to receive the heads of the nails U, while the body proper of said nails passes into the space h between the two curved plates Il. A pin t, placed into a hole t' near the end of said plates Il, prevents the nails from falling out of the receiver.

Upon the face of the body A are pivoted by bolts F F held within the body A by setscrews ff, Figs. l and 2, two levers E E', the upper ends whereof are curved toward one another at c, inwardly-projecting lugs c thereon preventing an elliptical spring Gr (or a number of such springs placed one upon the other) from being displaced, said` spring keeping the upper ends of said levers apart. The lower ends of these levers are provided with a series of prongs g g g made with a knife-edge, illustratedby the shading in Fig. 3, which prongs are arranged to pass into apertures p p, Figs. i and 5, near the end of the curved plates H, their object being here inafter to be referred to.

rEhe sides of the levers E E are convergingly arranged at l and 2, while upon the slide C there is provided a tapering projection L, the sides 3 and 4 of which are also inclined or wedge-shaped to engage the sides l 2 of said levers and thereby push them apart whenever the slide C is depressed, while the elliptical spring Gr returns them to their normal position (the one shown in Fig. 3) when- IOO ever said slide is pulled upward ready for action.

To the lower end of the slide C is secured a ram D, the lower end of which is formed cylindricaland of a diameter corresponding with that of the heads of the nails U, said ram passing into a groove s, form ed in a steel plate S, let into the lower end of the body A in conjunction with a grooved projection or lip. t, formed on a steel plate T, recessed into the under side of the cap A, all as clearly illustrated Vin the various figures. This ram is tapered above its cylindrical portion d to give strength to the same, and it terminates in an eye 5 by means of which and a pin 6 it is secured to the lugs 7 on the lower end of the slide C. The plates S and T are preferably made of steel to prevent wear as much as possible.

On the back of the body Athere is formed a boss N, having an aperture to receive the shank m of a U-shaped spring M, a lateral projection 'm' on the end thereof passing into the oblong aperture CZ of the body A. On the back of the slide C there is a further projection K, having a shank lc, by means of which it is removably secured to said slide. This projection is planned in relation to the U -shaped springMin such a mannerthat when the two parts are in contact and the device in the position shown in Figs. l and 2 the end of the ram Dwill bejust flush with the lower extremity of the body A and so that the head C of said slide is Within a very short distance of the upper end of the said body A. In this upper end there is dovetailed a steel stop R, held in position bya screw r, while on the head C there is a shoulder c. When this head C is pushed downwardly so that the shoulder c contacts with t-he stop R, the ram D will project from the lower end of the body a distance equal to the spacebetween the said shoulder and stop when the projection L contacts with the projection m of the curved spring M. To the boss N, already mentioned, is secured an adjustable guide-plate O by the screw o, said guide-plate O being provided with a slot 0', Fig. 2, whereby it may be adjusted in position. Its lower end is curved or otherwise shaped to accommodate various contours of moldings P ,which are to be secured to the panels P or other work on which this device may be advantageously used. In the present instance this guide is, as shown, elevated suficiently to remove it from contact with the work on which it is not required. This guide-plate O is used whenever the contour of the molding to be nailed is such that the end of t-he body, which, as shown in Fig. 2, fits a certain curve only, will not be accommodated by such molding. In this case the curved or otherwise shaped end of the guide-plate O will be made to lit the particular molding and the implement moved along in such molding, and thus guided by said guide-plate 0.

In operation thereceiver H is lirst filled with nails or brads, (wire nails being preferred for their more uniform quality,) they being introduced into the slot h with their heads below the guide J and then the pin i inserted. Now I depress the slide C, which will first cause the wedge-sl'laped projection L to force theleversE E apart and the prongs g g g out of the holesp p, and thereby to allow one nail to pass into the space o in front of the ends of the receiver. In this case the nail will locate in front of the ram, butis prevented from dropping into the driveway s by the said ram. If now the slide is elevated the prongs g g will pass behind the rst and in front of the second nail, thereby acting as a separator or stop` while as soon as the slide is entirely elevated the first nail will drop into the driveway s, ready to be driven into t-he work with the next descending of said ram D, which will force this nail into the molding P. When the slide is again lifted, the second nail passes into the driveways, so that the repeated operation of the slide successively feeds the nails one at a time to the ram D, to be driven into the work until the receiver is exhausted.

The driveway s is deeper than the diameter of the head of the nail U and semicircular in its bottom. This is thus planned to give the nails ample space to drop downwardly in the said driveway; but to properly center the nails at the lower end of the driveway it is contracted by the projection t, Fig. 5, the face of which is semicircularly grooved so that the cross-section of the lower end of the driveway is circular, to correspond with the head of the nails U. This projection t is formed on the plate T, which is removably held by friction in the cap A, and may be removed and others substituted to accommodate nails of different sizes, if desired.

It will be readily understood that when the head C is pushed downwardly it must be done with suflicient effort on the part of the operator to drive the same home until the shoulder c strikes the stop R. This will cause the end of the ram to pass beyond the lower extremity of the body A, (as already referred to.) and thereby force the head of the nail into the moldingP and thereby setting it, all in one operation. The spring M will, however, retract the ram D immediately, so that it will no longer project from the body when moving the apparatus along the molding, which might mar the same and might otherwise interfere with the rapid operation of the device.

The apparatus is held in one hand by the handle B and with the other hand by the knob C', and in use is inclined to an angle of about forty-tive degrees, as illustrated in Fig. 2, when the inclination of the curved receiver is such as to cause the nails to feed downwardly by gravitation in conjunction with IOO IIO

the jars which the implement receives while being used.

It will be readily observed that by means of this device a workman is enabled to do many times the work that he can now accomplish by means of a hammer and a set to drive and set the nails, it being understood that the iilling of the receiver by means of a special device (not illustratedin this present case) can be accomplished in a very short space of time.

Malleable metal and the best quality of steel wherever necessary are employed in the construction of this apparatus, which can be manufactured and sold at a reasonable figure.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure to me by Letters Patentof the United Statesl. A hand nailing device consisting, essentially, of a flat body having an oblong aperture and provided with a shank projecting from its side and fitted with a handle, a slide within said oblong aperture having a knob on its upper and a ram at its lower end, said slide being provided with projections on `both sides of its lower end, two curved levers pivoted upon the face of said body and terminating in prongs, the levers being convergingly arranged and provided with a spring to keep the prongs normally together, a race attached to a cap-piece covering the ends of said levers and closing the driveway, and a curved cap-piece above the said race, said race having apertures for the passage of the prongs, as and for the object specified.

2. In a hand nailing device, the mechanism for separating the nails, consisting, in combination with the body having a race formed with apertures, as described, of a slide having an oppositely-tapering projection on its lower end, and two levers pivoted upon said body and terminatingin prongs, as described, said levers being convergingly arranged with their lower ends approaching each other, whereby the slide when moving downwardly will gradually move said levers apart, and a spring adapted to press the levers together as the slide retracts, as and for the object set forth. y

3. In a hand nailing device, the combination, with the body having a slide provided with a projection on its lower end and terminating in a ram, ofthe U-shaped spring M, secured to the body with one end and intercept-ing the path of movement of said projection at the other end, and a stop to limit the downward movement of said slide, whereby the slide normally rests upon the free end of the spring by said projection and is returned to said normal position when the slide is pushed beyond this normal position to set lthe nail, as and for the object stated.

4. In a hand nailing device, the combination, with the body A, having the driveway provided with the groove s, of the cap-piece A", having the plate T, provided with the projection t entering said groove, the curved race having the cap-piece J, attached to said cap-piece A the slide C, and the ram D, as and for the purpose specified.

5. In a hand nailing device, the combination, with the body A, having the shank B', fitted with the handle B, and provided with an oblong aperture d the longitudinal edges of which are beveled to form guides, of the slide C, operating within said guides and having a wedge-shaped projection L at its lower end, the two pivoted levers E E', having the vcurved ends e and converging sides 1 2 and terminating in prongs g g, and the spring G, as described, whereby the slide when descending moves the pivoted levers apart, while the spring returns them to their normal position when the slide retracts, as set forth. In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have hereto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES N. HIBBARD. Witnesses:

MICHAEL J. STARK, WM. I. STARK. 

